Location: Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Population: 342,541 (LGA, 2021 Census)
Teressa Fisk, a finance broker on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, has spent the past two years with a strong focus on assisting clients to finance modular homes.
Modular homes are covered by the same building standards as on-site builds, are eligible for the First Home Owners Grant, and are often seen as an affordable option in many parts of regional Australia where securing skilled labor for new builds is unachievable. However, securing finance for them is difficult unless clients have equity readily available.
Ms Fisk works with five large modular companies in Queensland, all of which are receiving a number of enquiries about their homes, particularly from people living in sheds, caravans or cars on land they own but who are unable to get finance for a modular build.
“At the moment, we have a lender who won’t pay any money to the builder until the project is delivered and installed to services on the property. This is hard on the modular builders, as they have to shoulder the cost of the build until the end in most cases, whereas a standard builder will receive up to five progressive payments throughout the build process.”
She has been working with two lenders and is making progress on making it easier for a client to get a modular home built, with one paying a progress payment at frame stage and the remainder at completion.
Ms Fisk can see an opportunity for more families to get into homes but believes the hurdles they need to jump over are currently serving as a disincentive, with many choosing not to take up the modular option.
Teressa Fisk’s work was highlighted as part of the National Regional Housing Summit in February 2024.